Cultural distance and negotiation behavior : Perception of entrepreneurs operating in Turku

This thesis investigates the influence of cultural distance on entrepreneurs’ negotiation behaviour. For this purpose, Turku was chosen as the unit of analysis due to the exponential demographic change experienced during the last two decades that has derived in a more diversified local environment. The research aim set for this study was to identify to what extent entrepreneurs face cultural distance, how cultural distance influences the entrepreneur’s negotiation behaviour and how can it be addressed in order to turn dissimilarities into opportunities. This study presented the relation and apparent dichotomy of cultural distance and global culture, including the component of diversity. The impact of cultural distance in the entrepreneurial mindset and its consequent effect in negotiation behaviour was presented too. Addressing questions about the way individuals perceive, behave and interact allowed the use of interviews for this qualitative research study. In the empirical part of this study it was found that negotiation behaviour differed in terms of how congenial entrepreneurs felt when managing cultural distance, encompassing their performance. It was also acknowledged that after time and effort, some of the personal traits were enhanced while others reduced, allowing for more flexibility and adaptation. Furthermore, depending on the level of trust and shared interests, entrepreneurs determined their attitudinal approach, being adaptive or reactive subject to situational aspects. Additionally, it was found that the acquisition of cultural savvy not necessarily conveyed to more creativity. This experiential learning capability led to the proposition of new ways of behaviour. Likewise, it was proposed that growing cultural intelligence bridge distances, reducing mistrusts and misunderstandings. The capability of building more collaborative relationships allows entrepreneurs to see cultural distance as a cultural perspective instead of as a threat. Therefore it was recommended to focus on proximity rather than distance to better identify and exploit untapped opportunities and better perform when negotiating in whichever cultural conditions.

The Pay-Off Method as a Tool for Evaluating the Risk and Profitability of Public Real Estate Investments

Real option valuation, in particular the fuzzy pay-off method, has proven to be useful in defining risk and visualizing imprecision of investments in various industry applications. This study examines whether the evaluation of risk and profitability for public real estate investments can be improved by using real option methodology. Firstly, the context of real option valuation in the real estate industry is examined. Further, an empirical case study is performed on 30 real estate investments of a Finnish government enterprise in order to determine whether the presently used investment analysis system can be complemented by the pay-off method. Despite challenges in the application of the pay-off method to the case company’s large investment base, real option valuation is found to create additional value and facilitate more robust risk analysis in public real estate applications.

Modulation of the perception of temporal order by attentional and pre-attentional factors

When two stimuli are presented simultaneously to an observer, the perceived temporal order does not always correspond to the actual one. In three experiments we examined how the location and spatial predictability of visual stimuli modulate the perception of temporal order. Thirty-two participants had to report the temporal order of appearance of two visual stimuli. In Experiment 1, both stimuli were presented at the same eccentricity and no perceptual asynchrony between them was found. In Experiment 2, one stimulus was presented close to the fixation point and the other, peripheral, stimulus was presented in separate blocks in two eccentricities (4.8º and 9.6º). We found that the peripheral stimulus was perceived to be delayed in relation to the central one, with no significant difference between the delays obtained in the two eccentricities. In Experiment 3, using three eccentricities (2.5º, 7.3º and 12.1º) for the presentation of the peripheral stimulus, we compared a condition in which its location was highly predictable with two other conditions in which its location was progressively less predictable. Here, the perception of the peripheral stimulus was also delayed in relation to the central one, with this delay depending on both the eccentricity and predictability of the stimulus. We argue that attentional deployment, manipulated by the spatial predictability of the stimulus, seems to play an important role in the temporal order perception of visual stimuli. Yet, under whichever condition of spatial predictability, basic sensory and attentional processes are unavoidably entangled and both factors must concur to the perception of temporal order.

Map of the United States and territories showing the extent of public surveys and military reservations, land grant R.R., rail roads, canals, and other details ...

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

A comparison of public and private obstructive sleep apnea clinics

The aim of the present study was to compare the clinical findings and polysomnography results obtained at public and private clinics in Brazil, the follow-up after diagnosis, and the therapeutic aspects related to continuous positive airway pressure. Patients who snore and who have obstructive sleep apnea were retrospectively divided into two groups, i.e., public clinic (N = 307) and private clinic (N = 317). Data concerning age, sex, body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, medical history, sleepiness scale, follow-up after diagnosis, and acceptance of continuous positive airway pressure therapy were collected. Mean age was 50 ± 12 (range: 15-80) for public patients and 48 ± 12 years (range: 19-91) for private patients. Mean BMI was 30 ± 6 (range: 19-67) for public patients and 31 ± 6 kg/m² (range: 21-59) for private patients. The public clinic had a significantly higher frequency of women than the private clinic (M:F ratio of 2.0:1 and 6.9:1, respectively). The condition of private patients (apnea-hypopnea index = 31 ± 25) was more severe than that of public patients (apnea-hypopnea index = 25 ± 24 events/h; P = 0.0004). In the public and private clinics, 19 and 15% of patients were snorers, respectively, and 81 and 85% of them had sleep apnea. After diagnosis, follow-up was longer in the private group. The continuous positive airway pressure acceptance was similar for both groups (32 vs 35%), but patients from the public clinic abandoned treatment more than private ones (65 vs 13%). Social status was significant in terms of the severity of obstructive sleep apnea age and gender distribution. Private patients look for a diagnosis earlier in the course of the disease than public patients, adhere more to follow-up, and abandon continuous positive airway pressure treatment less than public patients do.

The contagion effect of public debt on monetary policy: the Brazilian experience

This paper attempts to explain why the Brazilian inter-bank interest rate is so high compared with rates practiced by other emerging economies. The interplay between the markets for bank reserves and government securities feeds into the inter-bank rate the risk premium of the Brazilian public debt.

Perception of privacy in smartphone applications: profiling users based on personality types.

This document is focused on studying privacy perception and personality traits of users in the context of smartphone application privacy. It is divided into two parts. The first part presents an in depth systematic literature review of the existing academic writings available on the topic of relation between privacy perception and personality traits. Demographics, methodologies and other useful insight is extracted and the available literature is divided into broader group of topics bringing the five main areas of research to light and highlighting the current research trends in the field along with pinpointing the research gap of interest to the author. The second part of the thesis uses the results from the literature review to administer an empirical study to investigate the current privacy perception of users and the correlation between personality traits and privacy perception in smartphone applications. Big five personality test is used as the measure for personality traits whereas three sub-variables are used to measure privacy perception i.e. perceived privacy awareness, perceived threat to privacy and willingness to trade privacy. According to the study openness to experience is the most dominant trait having a strong correlation with two privacy sub-variables whereas emotional stability doesn’t show any correlation with privacy perception. Empirical study also explores other findings as preferred privacy sources and application installation preferences that provide further insight about users and might be useful in future.

Social control of public expenditures in a multilevel principal-agent approach

ABSTRACTThis study enhances the principal-agent model by incorporating a multilevel perspective and differences among agency situations. A theoretical discussion is developed using a proposed intersection of methodological focuses and a descriptive-exemplificative hypothetical analysis. The analysis is applied to public expenditure social control in representative democracies, and as a result, a principal-agent model unfolds that incorporates a decision-making perspective and focuses on formulation, negotiation, articulation, and implementation competencies. Thus, it is possible to incorporate elements into the principal-agent model to make it more permeable to individual, group, and societal idiosyncrasies with respect to public expenditure social control.

The role of public export promotion in Finland Industry view of public export promotion in Southwest Finland

The role of the public export promotion in Finland needed more research. The part of the public sector export promotion in the overall export is significant. In an ever more global world not only the companies but also the counties compete against each other and the governments have an interest to boost their economy as much as they are able to. Every industrialized country has export promotion services in some form or another. In the 21st century the tendency has been the bundling of the services and this has also been done in Finland with Team Finland. The role and the efficiency of the services provided deserve more research. The research question of this study is: What is the role of the public export promotion services in Finland? The question is researched primary by expert interviews conducted for this study. The situation in Southwest Finland is studied from the viewpoint of the companies of the region by conducting a survey aimed to the successfully internationalized companies of the region and asking them on their views on the impact and role of public export services in their internationalization. The theory base is formed out of various export promotion studies, studies monitoring the effects of the promotion and theories of the internationalization process of companies. The primary material for the study are the three expert interviews conducted and the answers to the survey conducted. The research method in the first part is a constructive qualitative research. The research approach in the second part, where the views of the companies in Southwest Finland are studied, is quantitative. The study findings from the expert interviews: the aligning of the public export promotion done in Finland to the previous research and the addition of the role of the public sector in classical frameworks. The study findings from the survey: the utilizing of the public export promotion services is heavily delayed and the internationalizing companies start to utilize the services very late in their internationalization process, the average being 10,3 years from the beginning of the internationalization. Another central finding from the survey is that the successfully internationalized companies see the public export promotion services generally as highly beneficial but in the light of the answers the effect on their own company is not as significant. Concluding can be stated that the public export promotion is seen as beneficial, but the monitoring of the efficiency is complicated in the case of services. Getting the companies to start utilizing the services earlier in their internationalization needs attention from the service providers. By communicating the achieved results and benefits better to the potential users of the services the internationalization process of the companies could be accelerated

Exploring the experiences of male spousal caregivers for their wives with alzheimer disease in their homes : the lived experience and the men's perception of support groups /

This research is qualitative in nature and has explored, by means of interviews, the '^^ experiences of 10 men in their roles in caring for their spouses with Alzheimer Disease (see glossary) in their homes. Additional data were collected by attending 3 formal support group meetings and one informal meeting of a group of men who brought their wives to a support group meeting for their wives with AD. The data retrieved supported the assumption that education about the disease, utilization of formal community support services, and attendance at caregiver support groups or programs can assist healthy male caregivers in caring for their wives with AD in their homes.

Grade nine teachers' perception of how teachers, parents, peers, administrators, and community members affect the development of the grade nine student /

The purpose of this study was to examine grade nine teachers' perception of how teachers, parents, peers, administrators, and community members influence the overall development of grade nine students. Ten grade nine teachers (four male and six female) participated in the study which consisted of the completion of a one hour, tape-recorded interview. The central findings were as follows: 1) the grade nine student has evolved; 2) peers have an important impact on the four developmental areas (physical, emotional, social, and academic) of the grade nine student; and 3) the role of the grade nine teacher appears to have dramatically changed over the last seventeen years. Suggestions and recommendations for future research in this field are based on findings related to the enhancement of the secondary school experience for the grade nine adolescent.

The neo-liberal state and the crisis of public service broadcasting in the Anglo-American democracies /

The NeO'liberal State and the Crisis ofPublic Service Broadcasting in the Anglo-American Democracies The purpose ofthis analysis ofthe present condition ofpublic service broadcasting in the Anglo- American democracies was to investigate whether such media can still be regarded as the primarypublic spherefor a dialogue between each nation 's civil society and the State. The motivationfor this thesis was based on a presumption that such fora for public discussion on the central issues of each society have become viewed as less relevant bypoliticians andpolicy-makers and thepublics they were intended to serve in the Anglo-American democracies over thepast two decades. It is speculated that this is the case because ofa beliefthat the post-war consensus between the respective States andpublics that led to the construction of the Keynesian Welfare State and the notion ofpublic service broadcasting has been displaced by an individualistic, neo-liberal, laissez-faire ideology. In other words, broadcasting as a consumer-oriented, commercial commodity has superseded concerns pertaining to the importance ofthe public interest. The methodology employed in this thesis is a comparative analysisfrom a criticalpolitical economy perspective. It was considered appropriate to focus on the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the\ United States because they comprise the four largest Anglo-American nations with democratic political systems andprimarily market economies. Justificationfor this particular sample is reinforced by thefact that case study countries also share a common socio-political and economic tradition. The evidence assembledfor this thesis consisted almost exclusively ofexisting literature on the subjects ofpublic service broadcasting, global economic andpolitical integration, and the ascendance ofthe 'free-market ' ethos in Western democracies since the late mid- to late-1970s. In essence, this thesis could be considered as a reinterpretation ofthe existing literature relevant to these issues. Several important common features werefound among the political, economic and broadcasting systems of the four case study nations. It is proposed that the prevalence of the neo-liberal world view throughout the political and policy environments of the four countries has undermined the stability and credibility of each nation 's national public service broadcasting organization, although with varying intensity and effect,. Deregulation ofeach nation 's broadcasting system and the supremacy ofthe notion of 'consumer sovereignty' have marginalized the view of broadcasting on any basis other than strictly economic criteria in thefour case study countries. This thesis concludes that,for a reconstruction ofa trulyparticipatory anddemocraticpublicsphere to be realized in the present as well as thefuture, a reassessment ofthe conventional concept ofthe 'public sphere ' is necessary. Therefore, it is recommended that thefocus ofpolicy-makers in each Anglo-American democracy be redirectedfrom that which conceived ofan all-encompassing, large, state-ownedand operated public broadcasting service toward a view which considers alternativeforms ofpublic communication, such as local community and ethnic broadcasting operations, that are likely to be more responsive to the needs of the increasingly diverse and heterogeneous populations that comprise the modem Anglo-American democracies. The traditional conception of public broadcasters must change in accordance with its contemporary environment if the fundamental principles of the public sphere and public service broadcasting are to be realized.

Physiological reactivity and the perception of emotional stimuli as they relate to social adaptive functioning after traumatic brain injury / y Melonie Jane Hopkins.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often affects social adaptive functioning and these changes in social adaptability are usually associated with general damage to the frontal cortex. Recent evidence suggests that certain neurons within the orbitofrontal cortex appear to be specialized for the processing of faces and facial expressions. The orbitofrontal cortex also appears to be involved in self-initiated somatic activation to emotionally-charged stimuli. According to Somatic Marker Theory (Damasio, 1994), the reduced physiological activation fails to provide an individual with appropriate somatic cues to personally-relevant stimuli and this, in turn, may result in maladaptive behaviour. Given the susceptibility of the orbitofrontal cortex in TBI, it was hypothesized that impaired perception and reactivity to socially-relevant information might be responsible for some of the social difficulties encountered after TBL Fifteen persons who sustained a moderate to severe brain injury were compared to age and education matched Control participants. In the first study, both groups were presented with photographs of models displaying the major emotions and either asked to identify the emotions or simply view the faces passively. In a second study, participants were asked to select cards from decks that varied in terms of how much money could be won or lost. Those decks with higher losses were considered to be high-risk decks. Electrodermal activity was measured concurrently in both situations. Relative to Controls, TBI participants were found to have difficulty identifying expressions of surprise, sadness, anger, and fear. TBI persons were also found to be under-reactive, as measured by electrodermal activity, while passively viewing slides of negative expressions. No group difference,in reactivity to high-risk card decks was observed. The ability to identify emotions in the face and electrodermal reactivity to faces and to high-risk decks in the card game were examined in relationship to social monitoring and empathy as described by family members or friends on the Brock Adaptive Functioning Questionnaire (BAFQ). Difficulties identifying negative expressions (i.e., sadness, anger, fear, and disgust) predicted problems in monitoring social situations. As well, a modest relationship was observed between hypo-arousal to negative faces and problems with social monitoring. Finally, hypo-arousal in the anticipation of risk during the card game related to problems in empathy. In summary, these data are consistent with the view that alterations in the ability to perceive emotional expressions in the face and the disruption in arousal to personally-relevant information may be accounting for some of the difficulties in social adaptation often observed in persons who have sustained a TBI. Furthermore, these data provide modest support for Damasio's Somatic Marker Theory in that physiological reactivity to socially-relevant information has some value in predicting social function. Therefore, the assessment of TBI persons, particularly those with adaptive behavioural problems, should be expanded to determine whether alterations in perception and reactivity to socially-relevant stimuli have occurred. When this is the case, rehabilitative strategies aimed more specifically at these difficulties should be considered.